NutzBerzerk
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After playing on PS4 for a while, I switched over to the PC version because a friend purchased a copy for me, and wanted me to play the game with him and another friend when we could all get together. Now, playing it on PC is certainly the better experience than the console version solely due to the fact that the mouse and keyboard controls are infinitely superior to being stuck with either an Xbox One controller or a Dualshock 4, which is honestly a given; all shooters inherently feel better when using a control method that allows you to move around and shoot in whatever direction you want, at a moments glance, rather than waiting to turn around to face down whatever person has his rifle up your ass at any given moment.
Controls aside, which again, are way more fluid and honestly far more entertaining on PC than they are on the console version, I still feel ultimately mixed on the game in terms of its multiplayer offerings, despite having a ton of fun with it. Starting over from scratch once again yields the same issues I had when I started the game on PlayStation a couple years ago: the game is horridly unbalanced against new players, which means you have to suffer through a painful grind of getting pummeled over and over again until you get the arbitrary upgrade cards to a level that makes you formidable against the most standard players of the game. Almost three years after the initial release of the game, even those who didn't buy the game at launch when all the pay-to-win loot box garbage was permeating the experience are far past a point of being terrifying against people like me who may know all the mechanics of the game, and can play it at least moderately well (I'm no "professional" or anything, but I know how to play a shooter game); this means that new players are screwed no matter what because the game is so heavily built upon its "star cards" system that if you're wandering around with level 1 cards or just nothing at all, you're bound to become lunch meat to anyone you come across at a moment's notice. It doesn't matter if you get the drop on the person, fire the first shot, use your destructive equipment, or anything like that, you'll be minced down into a pile of sad paste if you come across Jonny "level 135 and has every effing star card on deck" no matter the circumstance.
The balance of Battlefront II could've been rectified long ago by implementing a system similar to Call of Duty or Battlefield, which has always been at least somewhat friendly to new players, giving them enough to handle their situations but doesn't strip away the feeling of power progression that those games give to those who put in the time investment to "get good". Unfortunately, although you're running through lavish environments, soaking in the wonderful ambiance of blaster fire and people screaming for dear life, you're a total chump to anyone who's put any sort of time investment in the game.
In a way, the grind helps incentivize players to keep coming back to it, because unlocking new cards and gradually gaining power feels nice, yet it just takes forever to really get anywhere. You're better left playing this game with friends who've put in the investment prior to you, so you can stick behind them like a parasite and feed XP off of assist kills, or you get the right amount of luck on your side that you can actually handle yourself in a match against people severely higher level than you; that is, if the moon is positioned just right, aligned with the stars in a certain way, and God, himself gave you a little "good luck" kiss on the cheek.
With a new Battlefront on the way, I'm hoping this issue isn't continued with a system in place not meant to make players pay for power, but this is EA we're talking about here, so we're going to get some sort of shenanigans to come at the release of that game, but by the time they sort their shit out, we could get a far more balanced game, because I adore the gameplay, here, the time with friends, the aesthetic, and so much more, just that the imbalance nearly kills it for me in ways.
Controls aside, which again, are way more fluid and honestly far more entertaining on PC than they are on the console version, I still feel ultimately mixed on the game in terms of its multiplayer offerings, despite having a ton of fun with it. Starting over from scratch once again yields the same issues I had when I started the game on PlayStation a couple years ago: the game is horridly unbalanced against new players, which means you have to suffer through a painful grind of getting pummeled over and over again until you get the arbitrary upgrade cards to a level that makes you formidable against the most standard players of the game. Almost three years after the initial release of the game, even those who didn't buy the game at launch when all the pay-to-win loot box garbage was permeating the experience are far past a point of being terrifying against people like me who may know all the mechanics of the game, and can play it at least moderately well (I'm no "professional" or anything, but I know how to play a shooter game); this means that new players are screwed no matter what because the game is so heavily built upon its "star cards" system that if you're wandering around with level 1 cards or just nothing at all, you're bound to become lunch meat to anyone you come across at a moment's notice. It doesn't matter if you get the drop on the person, fire the first shot, use your destructive equipment, or anything like that, you'll be minced down into a pile of sad paste if you come across Jonny "level 135 and has every effing star card on deck" no matter the circumstance.
The balance of Battlefront II could've been rectified long ago by implementing a system similar to Call of Duty or Battlefield, which has always been at least somewhat friendly to new players, giving them enough to handle their situations but doesn't strip away the feeling of power progression that those games give to those who put in the time investment to "get good". Unfortunately, although you're running through lavish environments, soaking in the wonderful ambiance of blaster fire and people screaming for dear life, you're a total chump to anyone who's put any sort of time investment in the game.
In a way, the grind helps incentivize players to keep coming back to it, because unlocking new cards and gradually gaining power feels nice, yet it just takes forever to really get anywhere. You're better left playing this game with friends who've put in the investment prior to you, so you can stick behind them like a parasite and feed XP off of assist kills, or you get the right amount of luck on your side that you can actually handle yourself in a match against people severely higher level than you; that is, if the moon is positioned just right, aligned with the stars in a certain way, and God, himself gave you a little "good luck" kiss on the cheek.
With a new Battlefront on the way, I'm hoping this issue isn't continued with a system in place not meant to make players pay for power, but this is EA we're talking about here, so we're going to get some sort of shenanigans to come at the release of that game, but by the time they sort their shit out, we could get a far more balanced game, because I adore the gameplay, here, the time with friends, the aesthetic, and so much more, just that the imbalance nearly kills it for me in ways.
fuck my fucking life
2010
Went back to Reach to finish it with a control method that doesn't freaking suck, and honestly, the PC experience is the way to go, say for the sometimes questionable optimization. Anyway, Halo: Reach is a great game with plenty of expansive, enjoyable levels, a mostly fair challenge when trekking through heroic difficulty, and as per usual, the multiplayer offerings are great.
Everything's great about Reach, except for one thing I've really begun to notice, now that I'm able to actually aim my guns like an adult; that's the reticle bloom, which is honestly a terrible addition to the game. Aiming and firing consecutive shots with a DMR or any other precision-based weapon acts like a chore, now as you have to pace your shots out in this rather annoying manner, dragging out combat encounters with enemies that require the be hit precisely (the added difficulties like heroic and legendary don't assist with this). Reticle bloom, alone really dampers the experience when playing the game, but I guess it should be worth mentioning that I never really had a problem with this until I finally started playing it on PC, so I guess it's not too much of a problem when you're using a gamepad, or playing on the Shitbox One version of the game (either of the new ports are the way to go with the framerate boost and removable motion blur).
Oh well, even with my reticle bloom complaint aside, Halo: Reach still rocks, but I'm finding it hard to really call it my "favorite" Halo, anymore.
Everything's great about Reach, except for one thing I've really begun to notice, now that I'm able to actually aim my guns like an adult; that's the reticle bloom, which is honestly a terrible addition to the game. Aiming and firing consecutive shots with a DMR or any other precision-based weapon acts like a chore, now as you have to pace your shots out in this rather annoying manner, dragging out combat encounters with enemies that require the be hit precisely (the added difficulties like heroic and legendary don't assist with this). Reticle bloom, alone really dampers the experience when playing the game, but I guess it should be worth mentioning that I never really had a problem with this until I finally started playing it on PC, so I guess it's not too much of a problem when you're using a gamepad, or playing on the Shitbox One version of the game (either of the new ports are the way to go with the framerate boost and removable motion blur).
Oh well, even with my reticle bloom complaint aside, Halo: Reach still rocks, but I'm finding it hard to really call it my "favorite" Halo, anymore.
I always wanted to get into Katamari but never owned any of the games. After picking this up in what I believe was a really good sale on Humble (I can't keep track of my gaming purchases to save my life), I finally gave the game a go, and completed it in one day.
I freaking love this game; once you get past the admittedly awkward controls (they take time to get used to but are super satisfying when you nail them down), you'll more than likely have a blast with this short and sweet adventure. The whole game is just rolling progressively larger objects into a super sphere of destruction, all with an adorable pastel color pallet design and charming PS2-era 3D models. The visual spectacle is amazing, and the sense of progression feels so real in a super satisfying way. The sound design is rather good, but the soundtrack is just phenomenal, and the gameplay is SO amazing. If you're in the market for a short game that'll be a total blast to play, then this is for you, most definitely!
To just briefly mark my issues with the game, yes, the controls take time to get used to. If you're playing the PC port, for the love of god, use a gamepad when playing the game, for your sake. Although it takes time to adjust, the gameplay becomes super satisfying, but it takes time to do so. Besides the controls, I ran into strange performance issues when playing the game, nothing all too game-breaking, but still minor issues. You'd expect a PS2 game ported to newer hardware would be a simple recipe for a smooth experience, but later levels which have you scale to enormous lengths can easily tank the performance, at least on a mid-range computer like my own, at least when using VSYNC. I'm not sure about the Switch port (which I'm inclined to buy now because I would love to play this game on the go), but the PC port is solid, but not specifically perfect.
I mean, that's really it for complaints; nothing all too serious. Man, this game is a total blast, and I'm itching for more Katamari goodness...
I freaking love this game; once you get past the admittedly awkward controls (they take time to get used to but are super satisfying when you nail them down), you'll more than likely have a blast with this short and sweet adventure. The whole game is just rolling progressively larger objects into a super sphere of destruction, all with an adorable pastel color pallet design and charming PS2-era 3D models. The visual spectacle is amazing, and the sense of progression feels so real in a super satisfying way. The sound design is rather good, but the soundtrack is just phenomenal, and the gameplay is SO amazing. If you're in the market for a short game that'll be a total blast to play, then this is for you, most definitely!
To just briefly mark my issues with the game, yes, the controls take time to get used to. If you're playing the PC port, for the love of god, use a gamepad when playing the game, for your sake. Although it takes time to adjust, the gameplay becomes super satisfying, but it takes time to do so. Besides the controls, I ran into strange performance issues when playing the game, nothing all too game-breaking, but still minor issues. You'd expect a PS2 game ported to newer hardware would be a simple recipe for a smooth experience, but later levels which have you scale to enormous lengths can easily tank the performance, at least on a mid-range computer like my own, at least when using VSYNC. I'm not sure about the Switch port (which I'm inclined to buy now because I would love to play this game on the go), but the PC port is solid, but not specifically perfect.
I mean, that's really it for complaints; nothing all too serious. Man, this game is a total blast, and I'm itching for more Katamari goodness...
2013
Strikingly funny, witty, and rather fun to play despite the very minimal interactions. I had a blast playing this by myself, but I also found it rewarding and fun to play this with my family all together, with everyone finding their own paths and handing the controller off to the next family member to see what secrets they can uncover. Honestly, the group experience is a fantastic way to experience The Stanley Parable, which will stay in my memory as one of the funniest and charming "walking simulators" I've played.
Backseat-gamed for this one while a friend took main controls. It was interesting to see a weird adaptation of my favorite short story play out in the regular semi-obtuse mid 90s adventure game format. There's some obvious aging to the whole ordeal, primarily in the control and certain puzzles being increasingly confusing and have strange steps needed to take to get to the end of it all. Fun, enlightening, and still disturbing to this day, the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream video game is a fun experience despite its glaring flaws when viewing it with modern sensibilities.
Fairly fun for what it is. A short, arcade-style shooter with some really fun mechanics and weapons to mess around with, but there are a few glaring issues with the game.
While I eventually got used to there not being any jump button, I found some of the mechanics of the game to feel rather useless, primarily in some of the weapons available to use that are frankly gimmick weapons when compared to more useful tools. I only really stuck to around five weapons I used on repeat, only bringing out other weapons if I needed a quick switch to a new gun on the fly.
I also found the story to be total hot garbage, which wasn't a big surprise if I'm to be honest. While the gameplay remains mostly a great time (it kinda peters out in the end but it thankfully ends before things get too repetitive), the story is a jumbled assortment of stale cliches helmed by stereotypical characters. The story isn't also helped by the severe amount of racist and sexist dialog both our protagonist and antagonist characters spout. More than anything else, Bulletstorm comes off as being edgy for the sake of being edgy, than telling any sort of actual coherent narrative. The fact that the story ends on a major cliffhanger that'll seemingly never be resolved also bites.
I picked this up on a Steam sale where it was like four or five bucks, and that's what I honestly feel it's worth. A fun little way to kill some time in the gameplay department, but it certainly isn't anything special like how it wants you to think it is. I'll certainly do another run of the game in the future with the Duke Nukem DLC when the time comes to play that.
While I eventually got used to there not being any jump button, I found some of the mechanics of the game to feel rather useless, primarily in some of the weapons available to use that are frankly gimmick weapons when compared to more useful tools. I only really stuck to around five weapons I used on repeat, only bringing out other weapons if I needed a quick switch to a new gun on the fly.
I also found the story to be total hot garbage, which wasn't a big surprise if I'm to be honest. While the gameplay remains mostly a great time (it kinda peters out in the end but it thankfully ends before things get too repetitive), the story is a jumbled assortment of stale cliches helmed by stereotypical characters. The story isn't also helped by the severe amount of racist and sexist dialog both our protagonist and antagonist characters spout. More than anything else, Bulletstorm comes off as being edgy for the sake of being edgy, than telling any sort of actual coherent narrative. The fact that the story ends on a major cliffhanger that'll seemingly never be resolved also bites.
I picked this up on a Steam sale where it was like four or five bucks, and that's what I honestly feel it's worth. A fun little way to kill some time in the gameplay department, but it certainly isn't anything special like how it wants you to think it is. I'll certainly do another run of the game in the future with the Duke Nukem DLC when the time comes to play that.
2015
Quite literally the worst thing I've ever attempted to play in my life.
2018
A fun enough Space Invaders clone.
+ aesthetically fantastic
+ sound design/soundtrack is impeccable
+ great enemy variety
+ loads of accessibility options
+ the story is fantastic
+ voice acting is superb
+ lots of fun cosmetic customization
- hard to get used to the controls
- combat isn’t too engaging
- motion blur is still noticeable even with it “turned off”
- controls are clunky a good chunk of the time
- no fast travel
- map design is “alright” to “horrendous”
- runs horribly on certain planets/high-density areas
- boss design is rather repetitive
- Unreal Engine 4 is awful
Ultimately a fun game, but very flawed. Might bump up the rating if I played this on a platform that didn’t run the Unreal 4 engine like total trash. Will more than likely play the PC version in the future, but as it stands, the PS4 port is overall good, but has a lot of problems that really hold it back. Hopefully we can get the franchise expanded in a sequel and cut out the graphical issues with the next generation of systems.
+ sound design/soundtrack is impeccable
+ great enemy variety
+ loads of accessibility options
+ the story is fantastic
+ voice acting is superb
+ lots of fun cosmetic customization
- hard to get used to the controls
- combat isn’t too engaging
- motion blur is still noticeable even with it “turned off”
- controls are clunky a good chunk of the time
- no fast travel
- map design is “alright” to “horrendous”
- runs horribly on certain planets/high-density areas
- boss design is rather repetitive
- Unreal Engine 4 is awful
Ultimately a fun game, but very flawed. Might bump up the rating if I played this on a platform that didn’t run the Unreal 4 engine like total trash. Will more than likely play the PC version in the future, but as it stands, the PS4 port is overall good, but has a lot of problems that really hold it back. Hopefully we can get the franchise expanded in a sequel and cut out the graphical issues with the next generation of systems.
2019
A rather fun action/shooter/rougelike with some unique mechanics and gimmicks. Not too mechanically deep so it's rather easy to get into, but can really ramp up the challenge, which is sometimes extremely unbalanced.
The art style is great, controls smooth, and this game can seemingly run on a toaster, so there's no excuse to give this a try.
The art style is great, controls smooth, and this game can seemingly run on a toaster, so there's no excuse to give this a try.
2010
I honestly can't say how many times I've played this game. I'd say this last playthrough might be my 11th or so. I've loved this game since I was a kid, and it's given me hours upon hours of continuous fun and was my entry to this storied franchise with all of its ups and downs. Dead Rising 2 is just a blast, with the wacky combo weapons, clothing customization, tons of side quests, and the whole time limit mechanic always adds a fun level of tension to the whole affair.
Be wary of the PC port in the frustrations that come from trying to get a controller working with the game, especially a Dualshock 4 (my preferred controller), but after some tinkering around, the game works great; steady framerate, didn't crash at all, and it's easy to run on modern machines. Dead Rising 2 is certainly a game to check out if you've been curious about Dead Rising if the first game is too intimidating to start off with.
Be wary of the PC port in the frustrations that come from trying to get a controller working with the game, especially a Dualshock 4 (my preferred controller), but after some tinkering around, the game works great; steady framerate, didn't crash at all, and it's easy to run on modern machines. Dead Rising 2 is certainly a game to check out if you've been curious about Dead Rising if the first game is too intimidating to start off with.
2008
Overall game score: 3/5
PC port score: 1.5/5
Well, I've completed as much of the game as I could considering the circumstances of this really shoddy port job. I originally played Dead Space on the Xbox 360 years and years ago and had a rather fun time with it; a fun spookhouse/sci-fi adventure aping the aesthetics of John Carpentor's The Thing and Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon, while melding it with obvious game-like influences from Resident Evil 4 and System Shock 2. Ultimately, I've always stated that Dead Space is a more "dumbed down" version of System Shock 2, and I still stand by that claim to this day, yet that doesn't discount the game from being rather fun in its own right.
Now, I played the PC port of this game, which in all honestly, is terrible all things considered. The mouse and keyboard controls are absolutely terrible unless you work an unofficial patch into the game (which was rather easy to install but that still doesn't excuse a bad port job), the in-game VSYNC locks your framerate to 30FPS, and on top of all that, the physics of the game are all over the place, actively making the game perform worse, the higher your framerate is. These frustrations were fine to deal with for a while until I began to get frustrated at some of the additional issues I ran into this port, including one crash towards the beginning of the game, a weird bug where a character didn't show up in a room that locked me in, meaning a required combat encounter never happened (twice, mind you, I had to reload a save a few times to get this scene to trigger properly) and a moment towards the late-game where all audio went silent within the game, making me restart the game to get sound back. Minor instances like that in a 10-ish hour experience are fine enough, except for the fact the game hard crashed on me within the final chapter multiple times, all within the exact same spot. I lost my patience working with the port job, and just decided to call this playthrough finished, since I had around 20 minutes left as it was until I rolled credits. Maybe there's some way to fix this issue, maybe I just had a string of bad luck, but either way, I'm not going to bother digging for fixes when I was at the end of the game, anyway.
If you're wanting to play the PC port of this game, which besides all of its issues, I would recommend because this is easily the best-looking version of the game, keep in mind the many hurdles you may have to mantle to get the thing working properly from beginning to end.
If you're willing to put up with the frustrations, Dead Space offers a lot of fantastic qualities that have made the game age rather well, considering its age: the atmosphere is thick and brooding, simultaneously beautiful and disturbing, and the combat is rather fun, if not a bit samey, and tiresome come the final hours. I honestly would've liked to see Dead Space trim a bit of the fat from the length, since the game goes on for maybe an hour or two too long, but even with the pacing issues (especially come the end), the game is a rather great proof of concept. If you like your horror on the more action side of things, Dead Space is certainly worth your time. Again, just be aware of the PC port's issues.
PC port score: 1.5/5
Well, I've completed as much of the game as I could considering the circumstances of this really shoddy port job. I originally played Dead Space on the Xbox 360 years and years ago and had a rather fun time with it; a fun spookhouse/sci-fi adventure aping the aesthetics of John Carpentor's The Thing and Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon, while melding it with obvious game-like influences from Resident Evil 4 and System Shock 2. Ultimately, I've always stated that Dead Space is a more "dumbed down" version of System Shock 2, and I still stand by that claim to this day, yet that doesn't discount the game from being rather fun in its own right.
Now, I played the PC port of this game, which in all honestly, is terrible all things considered. The mouse and keyboard controls are absolutely terrible unless you work an unofficial patch into the game (which was rather easy to install but that still doesn't excuse a bad port job), the in-game VSYNC locks your framerate to 30FPS, and on top of all that, the physics of the game are all over the place, actively making the game perform worse, the higher your framerate is. These frustrations were fine to deal with for a while until I began to get frustrated at some of the additional issues I ran into this port, including one crash towards the beginning of the game, a weird bug where a character didn't show up in a room that locked me in, meaning a required combat encounter never happened (twice, mind you, I had to reload a save a few times to get this scene to trigger properly) and a moment towards the late-game where all audio went silent within the game, making me restart the game to get sound back. Minor instances like that in a 10-ish hour experience are fine enough, except for the fact the game hard crashed on me within the final chapter multiple times, all within the exact same spot. I lost my patience working with the port job, and just decided to call this playthrough finished, since I had around 20 minutes left as it was until I rolled credits. Maybe there's some way to fix this issue, maybe I just had a string of bad luck, but either way, I'm not going to bother digging for fixes when I was at the end of the game, anyway.
If you're wanting to play the PC port of this game, which besides all of its issues, I would recommend because this is easily the best-looking version of the game, keep in mind the many hurdles you may have to mantle to get the thing working properly from beginning to end.
If you're willing to put up with the frustrations, Dead Space offers a lot of fantastic qualities that have made the game age rather well, considering its age: the atmosphere is thick and brooding, simultaneously beautiful and disturbing, and the combat is rather fun, if not a bit samey, and tiresome come the final hours. I honestly would've liked to see Dead Space trim a bit of the fat from the length, since the game goes on for maybe an hour or two too long, but even with the pacing issues (especially come the end), the game is a rather great proof of concept. If you like your horror on the more action side of things, Dead Space is certainly worth your time. Again, just be aware of the PC port's issues.
2011
Game quality: 8/10
PC port rating: 8/10
Right from booting up the game, it's obvious that Dead Space 2 is a considerable upgrade from the first installment. To start, the PC port isn't terrible this time around, having native mouse/keyboard support that doesn't feel like you're wrestling with a ten-foot-tall slug, and the overall optimization is much better, although it still leaves a lot to be desired like a FOV slider, and in-game VSYNC support that doesn't lock the game down to 30FPS.
Anyway, as for Dead Space 2, itself, it's a much tighter, better-paced experience from its predecessor. Dead Space 2 runs around 3-ish hours shorter than the first game, which in some cases may be cause for concern, but I honestly felt that the 10+ hour-long, sluggish pace of the game to be a real hassle. You're no longer left to solving menial puzzles at every turn, nor are you forced to needlessly backtrack through large portions of the game, so that's a plus. As I've said in the past, I would much rather play a shorter game that's paced well and ends when it's supposed to, than play something that drags on far past its welcome, and Dead Space 2 is very much that kind of experience.
Outside of overall better pacing and control, Dead Space 2's narrative sees a considerable boost from the first one, primarily through giving Issac Clark more personality through being a voiced character instead of a total blank slate. I understand that many take issue with Clark being more of a "character" this time around, yet I liked that this game gave Clark actual personality to his character. Clark's overall narrative ark is more interesting, and I rather liked experiencing the outbreak of Necromorphs this time around, even if I really loved exploring the Ishimura in a post-outbreak scenario.
I'll still roll my eyes at Dead Space 2's obvious influences, and it's still a bit tacky how much this series "borrows" from other contemporary horror/sci-fi media, but for an action-horror experience that provides some fun spooks, and a somewhat engaging story, all things considered, you can't go wrong with Dead Space 2.
PC port rating: 8/10
Right from booting up the game, it's obvious that Dead Space 2 is a considerable upgrade from the first installment. To start, the PC port isn't terrible this time around, having native mouse/keyboard support that doesn't feel like you're wrestling with a ten-foot-tall slug, and the overall optimization is much better, although it still leaves a lot to be desired like a FOV slider, and in-game VSYNC support that doesn't lock the game down to 30FPS.
Anyway, as for Dead Space 2, itself, it's a much tighter, better-paced experience from its predecessor. Dead Space 2 runs around 3-ish hours shorter than the first game, which in some cases may be cause for concern, but I honestly felt that the 10+ hour-long, sluggish pace of the game to be a real hassle. You're no longer left to solving menial puzzles at every turn, nor are you forced to needlessly backtrack through large portions of the game, so that's a plus. As I've said in the past, I would much rather play a shorter game that's paced well and ends when it's supposed to, than play something that drags on far past its welcome, and Dead Space 2 is very much that kind of experience.
Outside of overall better pacing and control, Dead Space 2's narrative sees a considerable boost from the first one, primarily through giving Issac Clark more personality through being a voiced character instead of a total blank slate. I understand that many take issue with Clark being more of a "character" this time around, yet I liked that this game gave Clark actual personality to his character. Clark's overall narrative ark is more interesting, and I rather liked experiencing the outbreak of Necromorphs this time around, even if I really loved exploring the Ishimura in a post-outbreak scenario.
I'll still roll my eyes at Dead Space 2's obvious influences, and it's still a bit tacky how much this series "borrows" from other contemporary horror/sci-fi media, but for an action-horror experience that provides some fun spooks, and a somewhat engaging story, all things considered, you can't go wrong with Dead Space 2.
2018
This game is rather strange to quantify, because, on the one hand, I found Broken Reality to be a rather mesmerizing experience, chock full of abstract beauty while wallowing within the deepest pits of irony that Vaporwave is synonymous with, but on the other hand, it's a deeply frustrating experience of meaningless checklists stretched out far past its welcome.
To note, I reached the final level of Broken Reality before I decided to just shelf the game. I spent around 7 hours in the game, going about the multitude of quests and scavenger hunts for "likes" and so forth, but I was soft-locked at the very end of the game, requiring me to go through what would seem to be another several hours of backtracking to see the end credits; frankly, I didn't have the patience to do that. Out of my own impatience, I just went ahead and looked up the ending online, gathered the story bits from that, and called my experience with this game finished. Ultimately, I find it a shame I called it quits with the game, but it helms a multitude of pacing issues that severely hamper the experience.
Broken Reality is ultimately a simple game mashing up first-person exploration titles with a general Metroid-Vania flavor, all doused within the ugly yet extremely charming aesthetics of Vaporwave, and if that sales pitch sounds like something you'd be interested in, then you'll definitely find something enjoyable about the game. I know I found my fair share of fun with it in uncovering the strange, twisted secrets of this virtual space gone mostly abandoned/corrupt, but the overall pacing of the game didn't keep me invested throughout the experience; several moments of the game drag on for far longer than they should, and that's a shame considering the talent put into this project, however, an hour or two shaved off the game would've greatly impacted the game for the better.
I'm torn on Broken Reality; ultimately, I'd recommend it, especially for those fascinated by internet culture, but I'd just be aware of the sluggish pace come the final hours of the game; if you can handle that, you'll probably have a blast.
This game deserves a much greater analysis in the future, one I'll have to do soon.
To note, I reached the final level of Broken Reality before I decided to just shelf the game. I spent around 7 hours in the game, going about the multitude of quests and scavenger hunts for "likes" and so forth, but I was soft-locked at the very end of the game, requiring me to go through what would seem to be another several hours of backtracking to see the end credits; frankly, I didn't have the patience to do that. Out of my own impatience, I just went ahead and looked up the ending online, gathered the story bits from that, and called my experience with this game finished. Ultimately, I find it a shame I called it quits with the game, but it helms a multitude of pacing issues that severely hamper the experience.
Broken Reality is ultimately a simple game mashing up first-person exploration titles with a general Metroid-Vania flavor, all doused within the ugly yet extremely charming aesthetics of Vaporwave, and if that sales pitch sounds like something you'd be interested in, then you'll definitely find something enjoyable about the game. I know I found my fair share of fun with it in uncovering the strange, twisted secrets of this virtual space gone mostly abandoned/corrupt, but the overall pacing of the game didn't keep me invested throughout the experience; several moments of the game drag on for far longer than they should, and that's a shame considering the talent put into this project, however, an hour or two shaved off the game would've greatly impacted the game for the better.
I'm torn on Broken Reality; ultimately, I'd recommend it, especially for those fascinated by internet culture, but I'd just be aware of the sluggish pace come the final hours of the game; if you can handle that, you'll probably have a blast.
This game deserves a much greater analysis in the future, one I'll have to do soon.